PEORIA, Ariz.  A baseball leaves Andrew Cashner’s hand as if it were late for a meeting on a moving train. As if it were being chased by a posse of cowhide-craving cheetahs. As if the object of the game was to dent bricks.

The Padres’ new relief pitcher has the kind of fastball that can make a catcher’s mitt whimper. Its speed has been documented at three digits and appeared to be approaching home plate in a hellbent hurry Wednesday morning.

That the best estimates of Cashner’s velocity were only educated guesses was by design. Radar guns are considered counterproductive in the early stages of spring training. They tend to trigger a Pavlovian response in young pitchers — the reflexive urge to turn up the heat.

“People want to know (pitch speed) immediately and it affects their psyche a little bit,” said A.J. Hinch, the Padres’ vice president of pro scouting. “If you’re telling a guy to tweak his delivery or focus on his delivery and he doesn’t get immediate radar gun readings, it can be a disadvantage to a coach.”

Maybe the most obvious difference between accomplished and aspiring ballplayers is the level of exertion they demonstrate in the first weeks of camp. A veteran player sure of his spot typically prepares for the regular season by pacing himself through a familiar routine. The prospect eager to establish himself is prone to attempt too much too soon in pursuit of a favorable impression.

“You’re not going to make the team on the first day,” Padres manager Bud Black said, reprising his standard welcome-to-camp speech. “A lot of you guys are in big league camp for the first time. Spring training is six weeks for a reason. Our program is designed to get you guys in shape. There’s no reason to throw 100 miles an hour the first day in camp.”

Except, of course, that throwing 100 miles an hour guarantees you will get noticed.

Nor does the absence of radar guns prevent evaluators from evaluating. Josh Stein, the Padres’ director of baseball operations, says four years of operating the radar gun at home games have enabled him to judge pitching speeds within 2 mph. Stein’s “Eye-Dar,” as Black calls it, placed Cashner in the 97 mph range Wednesday.

“There is always a risk of a young kid trying to make the club or trying to impress and overthrowing when his arm is not in throwing shape yet,” said Darren Balsley, the Padres’ pitching coach. “But not quite as much as there used to be.

“The guys who are really turning it loose — first of all, they have good arms and they’re capable of turning it loose, and they’ve been throwing (before spring training). I’m comfortable with it. The only thing to guard against is to make sure their delivery is solid. Overthrowing to me is when you try to throw as hard as you can and your mechanics break down.”